So are you calling the BC Lions weak? What about the Bombers? The two true best teams in the CFL.
As I pointed out…all it took was 6 wins to make the playoffs in the west
Both teams BC and WPG have weaker records than Toronto.
The true best team is the Alouettes, Grey Cup winners
And just so you know, the east is 19-13 against the west…20-14 if you count the GC so yes The west is the weakest division
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How many times has an Eastern team crossed over to the West in the playoffs? The East won more interdivisional games THIS year.
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So how long do you get to milk that cow?
The past means nothing. that is why they restart the standings every year.
The crossover means nothing when the system favours the west
The west is the weak division
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I don’t see how the crossover rule “favors” the West. If the fourth best team in the East has more wins than the third best in the West they would cross over. The reason it has never happened is that the fourth best East team has never had more wins than the third best West team. The rule works the same in either direction.
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Yes I know how it works, no need to explain it…the issue is that it is easier for the west to crossover to the east than it is for the east to crossover to the west
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I can accept that, but without it the West teams would be on the short end. If team strengths ebb and flow evenly East teams have a 25% chance of winning first place and a 75% chance of earning a playoff spot. West teams would have a 20% chance at first place and a 60% chance of making a playoff spot.
Here is another aspect of fairness. The four western provinces that are homes to the five West teams have an aggregate population of 11,700,00.
The two provinces that are home to four East teams have an aggregate population of 25,200,000.
One more example of the relative fan support in the two divisions is stadium size. Average capacity would be skewed by the two largest stadiums in the West which were built when league wide attendance was higher, so instead of total capacity by division we will compare the smallest West stadium with the largest East stadium. IG Field has a capacity of approximately 33,000 which is 8,000 more that either BMO Field or TD Place.
Since CFL’s financial situation is heavily dependent on gate receipts, that would indicate that the West does a better job of supporting their teams and most likely is subsidizing some East teams through revenue sharing.
Considering these facts, which of the two “unfair” situations would be more equitable?
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So its ok for the east to have the short end?
The rest of your post has nothing to do with the unfairness of the crossover
The only think relevant is that it is easier for the west to crossover than for the east and it needs to go
I admit that much of my post deals with unfairness other than the crossover rule. Since the only solution to the crossover rule there are two alternatives for ending the need for the crossover. Either the League finally gets a tenth team, which would be a stride forward, or the league contracts to eight teams, as it has done in the past.
Since you want an end to the crossover, maybe the existing East teams should help finance a suitable stadium for Halifax or Quebec City, creating a balanced ten team league. I would then be very much in favor of ending crossovers, and a tenth team would make scheduling much simpler. That way everybody wins.
You have a flair for arguing what has nothing to do with the issue
But there was a crossover with 8 teams. there will still be one with 10…The west will whine to keep it
Everyone picks which unfairness they will fight for or against. Keep in mind that while there have been a fair number of West teams crossing east, not one of them was able to keep an East team from going to the Grey Cup. If you want to argue that WPG won two Grey Cups as an East team, keep in mind that that was not a “crossover” situation, WPG was forced to play those seasons as an actual Eastern team due to one or another actual East team going down the tubes.
And again, that has nothing to do with anything
But the crossover was in effect
There is a movement that proposes doing away with divisions entirely, somewhat like the NHL was when there were only six teams. Maybe you would prefer that?
Great way to kill the league
More complaining from the west who will only be happy when all 5 teams are handed playoff sports with one team from the east…
They seem think that everything is owed to them
That is a complete misinterpretation.
First, there have been Eastern fans advocating for a single division, as well, so it’s not exclusively a Western desire.
Second, under a single division, no one would be “handed” playoff spots. Every team would have an equal shot at earning their spot, their home playoff date, and their bye. It would be based upon their record in a balanced schedule, where all teams would be measured against each other without regional bias.
It is under the current system that teams are “handed” playoff and home-game appearances based on an arbitrary line on a map. Usually, the current system favours the East, which is why more of the Eastern fans tend to whine and cry to keep the status quo. This year was an outlier based on historical numbers, but hopefully the East continues their rise, as parity is good for the league. One could also argue that the records were skewed by a division-weighted schedule, though I think that was also likely more of a factor in years past than in this past season.
You assert above that a single division would kill the league because there would be 5 western teams and only 1 eastern team in the playoffs. Is your confidence in the East that low? Do you not think the East could actually earn 3 (or even 5!) playoff spots on merit? That is all a single division offers – an equal competitive chance for all teams, both east and west. Why should either end of the country be given advantage? Nothing is owed to any of them.
Throw them all in a pot and let the players sort it out on the field.
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If Victoria or Kelowna in BC got a CFL franchise, Winnipeg would move back East as they have before.
I would imagine Wpg fans would not be happy
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that’s a two pound test movement.
This is the only scenario where 1 division could make sense. I can’t see Winnipeg moving back to the east in this scenario and 4-6 doesn’t work either
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In 2023, we had a stronger East division, and an eastern team won the Grey Cup. The East did better in head-to-head against the West, and didn’t have a 6-win team making the playoffs. Was that a fun deviation from the typical scenario of the West outperforming the East in previous years? Sure. But I do not get why fans complain about the West having it tougher. Quebec and Ontario are the two most densely populated provinces in Canada. That is where TV viewership is. Eliminating the divisions to make it less likely that an Eastern team competes in the Grey Cup would do nothing but hurt ratings and contribute to franchise instability in the East.
Look at literally any other pro sports league on the continent and tell me if any of them would make it harder for teams in their weaker divisions to advance in the playoffs. Go on. I’m waiting. 
It’s a non-issue. If you’re upset that your team hasn’t won the Grey Cup – and let me remind you that the holder of tjhe league’s longest active Grey Cup drought is in the East (Hamilton) – fault your team for not building a winner. Don’t point the finger at the division arrangement. If your team IS winning Grey Cups and/or going to the big game, have some class and stop kicking other teams when they’re down.
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I actually don’t hate that.
I think a division with TOR/HAM/MTL/WPG would be very fun to watch
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